Ving Rhames’ hulking mastiffs set their fangs on a caretaker and mauled him to death at the “Pulp Fiction” actor’s L.A. home, officials said yesterday.

The savaged corpse of the worker was found on Rhames’ front lawn after a brutal bloodletting that shattered the calm of the tony Brentwood neighborhood.

“This morning at 7:15 a.m. we got a call of a dead body,” said Sandra Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the LAPD. “We found the body of a male, approximately 40 years old . . . who had been mauled by dogs.”

Rhames, who owns three mastiffs and a bulldog, was out of the country working on a film at the time of the tragedy.

According to reports, at least two enormous mastiffs were involved in the fatal attack, which apparently began inside the actor’s home.

After getting mauled, the battered and bleeding worker managed to get out of the home and make his way through a gate, which he closed to barricade the dogs in.

He then staggered onto the lawn and collapsed, covered in bites from his torso to his feet. Authorities reportedly are trying to find out if the bites killed him or if he suffered some other ailment – such as a heart attack.

After his body was found, police armed with shotguns arrived at Rhames’ sprawling compound and were prepared to shoot the malicious dogs.

But officers were able to leash them without incident and take them to the pound.

In videos of the dogs’ capture, their tails could be seen wagging as they were loaded into L.A. Animal Services trucks.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times eight years ago, Rhames said his mastiffs were bred to “guard slaves.”

“It was the only dog they found with the temperament to guard a slave,” Rhames told the paper. “It could be around you every day, but if you tried to get away. . .”

The name of the victim was not released, though he was described by E! Online as a man who had worked for the actor for two years.

Part of the victim’s job was to feed and care for the animals – including nine puppies owned by Rhames, according to the Web site TMZ.com.

The site also said that the dogs were taken to be tested for rabies or any other disease.

A spokesman for Rhames had no comment yesterday. Rhames has not been charged with any crime, though owners are liable for damages in civil court when their dogs attack.

In addition to “Pulp Fiction,” Rhames starred in “Mission: Impossible III” and acted in the current Adam Sandler film “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.”